Penicillin

Triumph and Tragedy

Robert Bud

A compelling new study of one of the greatest drugs of the last century

Reveals the impact penicillin has had on culture and society worldwide

Has its time now passed in the face of MRSA and other hospital superbugs?

Penicillin

Triumph and Tragedy

Robert Bud

Description

Penicillin is the drug of the twentieth century. It was the first of the antibiotics that, for decades after the Second World War, underpinned a popular belief that infectious disease had at last met its match. With the emergence of "superbugs" in recent decades these hopes have faded. Across the world, we are warned that widespread antibiotic abuse will inexorably erode the drugs' efficacy and our own earlier confidence in them.

Penicillin pulls these different but conjoined stories into a compelling narrative spanning the second half of the twentieth century. Using a wealth of new research, Robert Bud sets the discovery and use of penicillin in the broader context of social and cultural change across the world. He examines the drug's critical
contributions to medicine and agriculture, and he investigates the global spread of resistant bacteria as antibiotic use continues to rise. Clearly written and highly topical, his book will be of great interest to historians, scientists, and anyone wishing to understand penicillin's seismic impact on modern life.

Penicillin

Triumph and Tragedy

Robert Bud

Table of Contents

Introduction1. Illness, drugs and wonder drugs before penicillin2. Penicillin from organised science3. Creating the brand in the era of propaganda4. Making penicillin across the world5. The carefree culture and the third industrial revolution6. Fighting resistance with technology7. Doctors, patients and the brand8. Animals, resistance and committees9. In face of catastropheConclusion

Penicillin

Triumph and Tragedy

Robert Bud

Reviews and Awards

"A thorough and approachable review. A fascinating story. His prose is precise and eminently authoritative. His data is superbly referenced."--John Dwyer, Times Literary Supplement

"A fascinating overview of the development and marketing of penicillin."--Allen F Shaughnessy, British Medical Journal

"A compelling perspective on the achievements of 20th-century medicine, and how they have given rise to new challenges for the 21st."--Jon Turney, Times Higher Education Supplement

"An insightful and thorough history."--Financial Times

"This is a serious and thorough text from OUP, with a number of important messages for doctors and patients alike."--Dr Jeremy Sager, Univadis Review

"A story full of human interest that general readers will enjoy."--Hugh Pennington, Nature

"A highly detailed account of how we arrived at what may be the threshold of a post-antibiotic age, containing a wealth of medical and social history."--Jo Whelan, New Scientist

"This extremely well-written and exhaustively researched book is invaluable in understanding the story of penicillin."--I. Richman, Choice Reviews Online